Friday, June 11, 2010

Brassica Bed

While I as at my old house, I removed the cover to the brassica bed. I figured everything would be bolting in the heat. It does look a little like that doesn't it? My Chinese cabbage is not bolting, but it isn't growing well either so I don't have high hopes. The broccoli is getting bigger, but still not doing well. I pull the bolting Fun Jen and tatsoi. I pulled the bolting Komatsuna which I kept to eat as it looked quite good.

I was most interested in the new vegetables that I was growing. My Senposai looked beautiful. It showed no signs of bolting at all. It was growing quite well. I harvested the bigger leaves. Sadly when I had them for dinner last night they weren't great. The taste was just fine, but they were a bit tough. Not all of my experiments work out well. If I had chickens it would be a great thing to grow as it is very prolific and I'm sure the chickens would love it.

The best of the growth was on my Yakatta-Na. I'd never heard of this before seeing it in the Fedco catalog. So of course I was curious and had to plant it. Well it was slow early in the spring, but with the heat it really took off. The taste is fairly typical of the Asian greens, not much to make it stand out from a bok choy. It was mild with a bit of mustard taste. But it wasn't bolting at all. And it has been quite warm. Every single plant held in the heat. Maybe I can grow this in the summer here? I could still grow the green stemmed bok choy and tatsoi, but this seems to hold even better.

So I picked one and left the rest. I want to see if they keep holding up. I'll try to pick one each week. If they can last that long they are a real keeper for summer brassicas.

Also in the bed was a fabulous turnip. Just one. I forgot to sow them when I should have so they were planted way too late. I figured none of the would make it. This one was about an inch and a half in diameter and oh yummy. I love sweet salad turnips. A few more are starting to bulb. I just can't believe that I got any of them this year. And maybe, just maybe I might get more.

The chard was really taking off too. I kept it in the brassica bed under the cover because it would keep the leaf miners off when I wasn't there. It worked. I picked tons. Since I harvested so much that day, I decided to blanch it all and freeze it for the winter. I've been woefully bad this year at saving things, but I think with this big chard bed I'll get a lot until the house is gone.

12 comments:

Lots of greens! The Senposai has my interest. Were you eating it raw or was it tough after you cooked it? It looks like it would be a good candidates for stir frys etc. and I am thinking it would be a good one to add to a bed of greens for my chickens (yes I am now considering growing items just for them!).

kitsapFG, I ate it cooked, so cooking didn't solve the problem. If you are growing things for just them I also recommend Komatsuna as a fodder crop (that you can also eat - and I like eating this one cooked with a bit of soy sauce and seasame oil). It is extremely productive also.

johanna, actually I don't grow fennel because I don't like the flavor (licorice flavor seems weird in cooked food to me - though I love it in candy). The self sown plants are dill. Dill is one of my biggest weeds in the garden. I let it go to seed freely all over and I have to weed it out viciously, but I do always leave a lot for pickle making later in the year.

Chickens do love Senposai :) Funny, I don't dislike it but when it is at its highest production so are all the other greens and I tend to eat the other greens first so the girls get most of the Senposai (it is almost too productive). It didn't do well this year and I really didn't miss it . . . I love my chard though.

michelle, well my Senposai seems to be growing like crazy. I do need some chickens. Last year they changed the law so people can have them in Arlington, but I don't know anyone here with them.

EG, well it is pretty enough.

The Mom, Oh I would have so much for your chickens if you lived close. All my trimmings and such. Though you'd have to trade them for a bit of chicken poo and bedding so I can still fill up my compost pile.

Jackie, my husband is not keen on the idea of chickens. My friends in the other unit however would love them.

Dan, well they could grow them in areas that are cool, or ship them in from South America. Maybe they also bolt because of the longer days. Spinach is like that. Then the farther north you go the worse trouble you have.

Thomas, I love trying out all the new greens. Sometimes I find one that is a real keeper. I think I'll watch to see if it works for you. I have a feeling the caterpillars will still get in, but maybe not. It would be nice not to have to cover them with something I can't see through.

About Me

I've been gardening for almost three decades now, ever since my husband and I bought our first house. Every garden has been different. The first was small and the soil was almost pure sand. The second was larger and I had heavy clay. The third and current one which is just outside of Boston, is by far the largest even though the lot is by far the smallest. Since we bought the house new, we designed the landscaping ourselves, and the soil we added was fairly good. My challenge here is the location. We are so close to our neighbors that their houses can shade the garden.